


SVT drabbles

by orphan_account



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, Kidnapping, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi-centric, Minor Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Chan | Dino
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2020-12-09 08:34:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20991935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Drabbles of Seventeen that I may or may not finish.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heavily influenced by this edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSVEHpSYdv8

"I'm sorry," Chan quietly murmured. Soonyoung glanced down at his own fingers then grimaced and looked away, lip curling in disgust. "I should've found you sooner."

Soonyoung pulled Chan to his chest with his uninjured arm. "It's fine," he reassured. "You haven't fully developed yet."

Chan bit his lip, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the ground. "I fucked this mission up; I'm sorry."

"Nothing bad even happened for you to be apologizing and acting all sad and cute," Soonyoung fondly pinched the younger's cheek, glad that Jun had changed their appearances back. It was weird looking at an old version of Chan. When Chan attempted to swat his hand away, Soonyoung leaned in to nuzzle their cheeks together, a grin growing on his face. "We got everything we needed, so really, the mission was a complete success."

Chan let out a growl of frustration, pushing harshly at Soonyoung's shoulder until he'd successfully detangled them. Soonyoung hissed in pain when he instinctually steadied himself on his injured hand. "This was serious," Chan growled.

Soonyoung slowly lost the smile, a small frown working its way onto his face. "Channie-ah?" he said, a note of uncertainty in his voice. "You good?"

Chan glared at Soonyoung. "I'm fine," he replied icily. "But are you?"

Soonyoung stared at his mangled, crooked fingers. "I will be as soon as Jisoo-"

"They won't always be here to fix everyone every time I mess up," Chan exploded. "What if the police had assumed you were by yourself and had just taken you straight to a Facility?"

Soonyoung peered at Chan, disapprovingly watching his chest rise and fall rapidly in anger. Anger not at Soonyoung for getting caught, or at the police for hurting him, but at himself for not getting there fast enough. "Jeonghan-hyung was right," Soonyoung finally sighed, looking away from Chan's still youthful face. "It's my fault; I said you were mature enough for this job, but you're still way too young for this."

Chan's eyes widened in disbelief. He slowly clenched and unclenched his fists. "I hate you," Chan spat. "Go fuck yourself."

Soonyoung watched with a heavy heart as Chan's old, dingy sneakers disappeared from his line of sight. He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, staring instead at the unmoving ceiling fan. Chan doesn't mean that; he's still a baby, Soonyoung reminded himself.

Seokmin plopped down on the couch next to him, blanching and hurriedly excusing himself as soon as he caught sight of Soonyoung's fingers. "Where's Shua-hyung?" Soonyoung called after his quickly retreating back.

"They weren't expecting you to get hurt, so they went to get groceries," Seokmin responded, adamantly refusing to turn around. "Tell me when you get that fixed, and then we can hang out."

Soonyoung examined his fingers. "My hand's not that bad," he said defensively, flexing the pinky to prove his point.

"Oh God, they move," Seokmin said, thoroughly horrified. He shook his head dramatically, and placing a snapback on his head, moved to exit through the front door. "Just text me when you get that fixed," Seokmin said. "Or don't text me. That's totally fine too."

"Like hell I'm gonna text you, asshole," Soonyoung muttered darkly. He made a mental note to send close-up photos of his hand to Seokmin later. This whole day was starting to get on his nerves. He leaned back further against the couch, wishing he could sink into the fiery depths of hell. Or the couch cushions. Either would work at the moment.

Soonyoung was just about to drift off to sleep when warm fingers began to card through his hair. He opened his eyes, ready to snap at whoever dared to ruin his nap, only to see that it was Jihoon. "What happened to your hand?" was the first thing he said.

Soonyoung sighed, long and drawn-out. "I don't want to talk about it," he murmured. He pulled Jihoon down next to him despite his protest of having work to do and latched onto him. "I'm so fucking tired." Jihoon hummed, making his hand heat up to a comforting warmth and resuming his job of petting Soonyoung's hair. "My baby is going through puberty," Soonyoung suddenly said.

"Chan?" Jihoon guessed.

"Channie baby," Soonyoung confirmed with a sad nod. "He said he hates me today. And then he told me to go fuck myself."

Jihoon scoffed. "I doubt that. He puppy dogs to you way too much to actually mean that."

Soonyoung considered Jihoon's words, finally shrugging and making himself more comfortable on Jihoon's thighs. "Hey," Jihoon protested, poking at Soonyoung's drooping eyes. "Don't fall asleep on me. I was serious about having work to do."

"No one loves me," Soonyoung grumbled, but obliged, pulling himself up and back onto the couch.

"No one loves you," Jihoon agreed. "Especially not me." His words contrasted by the soft petting he continued even after he stood. "Want me to get you an ice pack for that?" he asked, a grimace on his face. "The rest of you seem to like cold things for your injuries."

Soonyoung nodded, smiling at Jihoon's apparent aversion. "Don't melt the ice when you bring it."

Jihoon shrugged and stood, stretching exaggeratedly then making his way to the kitchen. Jihoon returned moments later with a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a paper towel. "Here," Jihoon announced, placing the chilled bag gently on Soonyoung's crooked fingers. Soonyoung hissed at the weight and pushed his head further back against the cushions, face scrunched up in discomfort. Jihoon observed the older, unsure of how to relieve his pain. "Should I text Jisoo-hyung and tell him to hurry up?"

Soonyoung shook his head. "Just turn the TV on for me." He quirked a brow when Jihoon returned to his side after turning the old-school television to his favorite channel. "I thought you had work to do?"

"I do," Jihoon established before letting out an ever-suffering sigh. "But I like this show."

Soonyoung's lips slowly spread into a grin. "I knew you loved me," he said triumphantly.

Jihoon rolled his eyes even as he pulled Soonyoung into a firm hug. "Are you deaf?" he muttered. "I said I liked the show, not you."

Soonyoung started at the sudden booming noise of a door slamming shut. Minghao walked out of their shared room in a daze. "What's gotten up Chan's ass?" he finally asked.

Soonyoung and Jihoon shared a glance. "He kick you out?" Soonyoung asked. Soonyoung snorted at Minghao's nod. "Join the party," he said, patting the couch seat next to him.

Minghao begrudgingly sat down, casting only a single concerned look at Soonyoung's hand. Soonyoung was grateful that Minghao, at least, was not overreacting at the mere sight of his wound. "I'm going to turn all of his electronic stuff into solid gold," Minghao declared after a moment.

Soonyoung coughed nervously. "Maybe don't do that?" he proposed. As the group leader, he was supposed to control his group members by not allowing them to attack each other.

Jihoon grinned. "That sounds like a great idea, Hao," he encouraged before standing and stretching. Soonyoung glared at him. That traitor. "I'm gonna go get some work done," he said before leaving Soonyoung with a still fuming Minghao.

Seungkwan walked past with an empty water bottle, then paused and stared at Soonyoung and Minghao. "What's with the mood in here? It's so depressing and gross." Soonyoung raised his arm as an answer, entertained by Seungkwan's terrified squeak. "What the hell is that?" Seungkwan asked.

Minghao nodded. “Yeah, what happened?”

Soonyoung frowned at his hand. It wasn’t exactly uncommon to get hurt while working but still. It was embarrassing. “I got caught today,” he said after a moment, ears slightly red. “One of the police officers broke my fingers to try to get info.” Minghao patted his thigh sympathetically. Soonyoung glanced at Minghao with an apologetic smile. “That’s why Chan’s grumpy so don’t be mad at him, Hao.”

"Hold still," Jisoo grunted, biting down on his bottom lip as he studied Soonyoung's hand, glancing down at the medical anatomy book for reference. "This might hurt a bit," Jisoo cautioned, delicately tugging at a finger to gauge Soonyoung's reaction.

"Every time you say that it hurts a lot," Soonyoung complained, resisting the urge to smack Jisoo's hand away.

"Seungkwan could numb your pain senses if he'd just man up and get over here," Minghao said, sending a pointed glare in Seungkwan's direction.

Seungkwan shook his head in the corner and peeled the plastic off of his cinnamon roll, unabashed. "That," he said slowly, pointing at Soonyoung without actually looking at him. "That is disgusting. I refuse to go near it or you, hyung, sorry."

Soonyoung kissed his teeth. "Hao, you'll do anything for your team leader, right?" He waited for Minghao to nod in confirmation before motioning in Seungkwan's direction then dragging two fingers across his neck in an execution signal. "Get him."

Seungkwan yelped, nearly dropping his cinnamon roll in his haste to escape. "Did you just tell him to kill me?"

Minghao shrugged and got to his feet, a predatory grin covering his face. "What the leader wants, the leader gets."

"Wait, I'll do it," Seungkwan shouted, holding his hands up in surrender. "Just go away."

Soonyoung eyed the cinnamon roll in Seungkwan's hand hungrily. "Give me that, and I'll send Hao away."

"Make your thug leave already," Seungkwan muttered, handing him the food begrudgingly. He placed a hand on top of Soonyoung's head and closed his eyes in concentration. "Okay, you should be good to go," he announced after a moment. Jisoo tested Seungkwan's work by yanking harshly at Soonyoung's hand, satisfied when Soonyoung displayed no signs of discomfort.

"Thanks, Kwannie-ah," Soonyoung beamed while taking a bite of the cinnamon roll. Seungkwan glared as hard as he could, wishing he could punch Soonyoung in his perfect teeth. "You're a darling."

"You can't leave yet," Jisoo said as Seungkwan turned to do just that. Minghao latched onto his wrist and pulled him down onto the couch despite Seungkwan's fervent protests. Jisoo smiled apologetically. Seungkwan thought he resembled a demon more than the angel everyone believed him to be. "Sorry, but Soonyoungie needs to be able to feel pain after he's healed, y' know?"

A few minutes later and Seungkwan finally escaped, insisting that he had to vomit while Minghao and Soonyoung snickered.

"Do you want me to go get him?"Minghao asked, an evil gleam in his eyes.

"Let him go; we've messed with him enough," Jisoo waved Minghao down. "Besides, I'm almost done."

"Hey," Soonyoung greeted, making sure to steal the spot next to Chan. Chan barely glanced at him, keeping his eyes trained firmly on the plate in front of him instead. "My hand's fixed," he announced, holding his hand up to the light for admiration purposes.

"I didn't ask," Chan gritted out. Seungcheol looked up in surprise at the virulent voice, opening his mouth to berate the younger for being rude. Soonyoung caught his eye and discreetly shook his head, telling him to not push the matter. Seungcheol shrugged and turned to Wonwoo who had a similarly startled face.

Chan kissed his teeth, a supremely unimpressed expression on his face. "Is that what you said when Samuel was taken?"

The room went utterly quiet, everyone glancing at Soonyoung in their peripheral vision to see his reaction.

Soonyoung froze, still and silent as he gawked at Chan. He swallowed then quickly stood, just barely managing to turn his back on them before a strangled sob escaped his throat.

"Holy shit," Wonwoo rebuked, standing to console Soonyoung. Wonwoo felt like he was in some odd, fever-induced dream. He still wasn't quite certain that Chan of all people had brought up Samuel. Samuel was a taboo topic for them all, most of all Soonyoung, never to be brought up in casual conversation, least of all, a heated quarrel. "You went way too far with that, Chan."

Chan appeared momentarily guilty before regaining control over his face, looking stony-faced once more. "It's not fair, hyung," Chan continued, albeit in a softer voice. "I'd feel exactly like how you do if something were to happen to you while you were with me. That's not being fucking immature, that's being human."

"Chan, that's enough already," Seungcheol scolded, belatedly deciding to take charge over the situation and diffuse it. "Remember who’s your hyungs here." Chan looked down towards his plate, not quite willing to capitulate just yet. "Chan." Chan looked up and met Seungcheol's eyes, full of anger, all of a sudden reminded that Seungcheol could kill him before he could even blink if he wanted to. "Apologize to Soonyoung. Now."

"It's fine."

At the watery voice, both of their eyes shot to Soonyoung, who still hadn't looked up from Wonwoo's shoulder.

"You know better than I do, right, Channie-ah?" Chan nearly flinched at the venom and malice in Soonyoung's voice when he said the term of endearment. "You're off my team."

Chan glanced around uncertainly. "W-What?" he stammered. "You can't just- You can't just kick me off?" He turned imploringly to Seungcheol. "He can't just do that."

Seungcheol shrugged. "It's up to the leader."

Chan turned to Soonyoung to- what he was going to do, he hadn't quite figured out yet, but he'd do anything to get back in Soonyoung's good graces. He'd worked too damn hard to be accepted into Soonyoung's team and be allowed in the outside world by himself. Soonyoung glared back at him through wet lashes before vanishing without a trace. Wonwoo didn't look shocked that Soonyoung had chosen to run away from the fight, instead returning to his chair with a tired sigh. His eyes flickered to Chan's, whose eyes were currently trained on Wonwoo's tear-stained sweatshirt. "You should apologize to him later, Channie-ah," Wonwoo said, picking up his fork once more.

"Why should I?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could blink. Wonwoo paused, fork filled with food suspended in midair as he stared at Chan with wide eyes. He slowly put the fork down and quirked a brow at Chan. Chan resisted the urge to slam his head down on the table. Damn it all, Chan was apparently hell-bent on making everyone resent him.

"What's with you today?" Seungcheol asked, taking the seat directly across from Chan to properly look him in the eyes. "You're being so snappy and rude." He rested his cheek on his palm. "You know better than bringing up Samuel like that."

Chan's ears burned and he frowned at his plate, rather than look at Seungcheol's disappointed face.

"Can I see?" Seungcheol asked softly. "Just whatever happened that got you so worked up." Chan nodded, feeling the familiar niggling in his noggin as Seungcheol went through his memories of the day, the fear of losing Soonyoung, the horror he felt when he finally found Soonyoung, the frustration when Soonyoung brushed aside his concerns. Chan blinked up at Seungcheol pleadingly.

Seungcheol sighed after a moment. "I get where you're coming from, but the whole Samuel thing was uncalled for."

Chan felt a tear prickling his eye. "I was so scared, Cheol-hyung."

"I know," Seungcheol mumbled, tugging him into a hug and tucking his chin on top of Chan's head. Chan leaned into him with a tired sigh, wishing the leader could just take away the whole day. "But you can't say things like that. "

"I'm not following this at all," Wonwoo said, getting up with his plate.

"Go hang out with Mingyu," Seungcheol ordered.

"That's exactly where I'm going," Wonwoo quipped.

Chan looked up at Seungcheol with wide, doe eyes after Wonwoo left. "I'm not really off of hyung's team, am I?"

Seungcheol swallowed. “Maybe?”

“_Hyung_,” Chan whined, too aware of how childish he was sounding. “This isn’t fair.”

“I can’t choose for him,” Seungcheol defended helplessly, holding his hands up in self-defense. Chan pushed Sungcheol’s arms away from around him and stood. “Chan, come back,” he called half-heartedly. He knew Soonyoung was way too soft-hearted to actually remove Chan from his team but he let Soonyoung deal with it.

"Are you here to yell at me too?" Chan sniffled, pushing his face into his arms. "I know I messed up, just leave me alone."

Seokmin shrugged and took a seat next to the younger, patting him consolingly on the back. "I think you had a solid point actually," he said, earning him a look of shock from Chan. "But the execution of your point was terrible. Like, maybe the worst way you could have possibly put it."

Chan groaned, hiding his face back into the crook of his elbow. "I just want to disappear. For like, a couple of hours at the least."

Seokmin smiled sympathetically. "I can help you with that," he said, pulling Chan up to his feet. "But you have to promise to at least try talking to Soonyoung afterward. Both of you won't solve anything running away from each other."

Chan made a face. "Do I have to apologize?"

"Not unless you want to," Seokmin answered after thinking about the question. "There's no point in making you say sorry if you don't mean it." He latched onto Chan's arm dragging him towards the hallway. "Now, put on your face mask; we're going out."

Chan wished he could stay forever at the park with Seokmin and Seungkwan, but they forced him to come back home when the sky started to change hues.

He wished he'd stayed at the park overnight.

As he passed by Jihoon's "office", he could vaguely make out the sounds of wretched sobbing through the crack in the door. He peeked inside as stealthily as he could manage, considering there was no way Jihoon wouldn't have already known he was there, and found Soonyoung hanging onto Jihoon, shoulders shaking. They were tangled together on the old armchair Soonyoung had found in a dumpster when he was supposed to be working. "I miss Samuel so much," Soonyoung said with some effort. Chan's stomach lurched at the sound of Soonyoung's voice. He sounded absolutely wrecked, voice hoarse and thick. Soonyoung was sobbing and fuck, it was completely his fault.

Jihoon hummed, patting his head consolingly. "I miss him too," he said softly.

"I shouldn't have been so fucking scared that day," Soonyoung mumbled, regret evident in his voice. "What if I fuck up again like that when I'm with Channie?"

Jihoon's eyes locked onto Chan's over Soonyoung's head. Chan was startled to see no outrage in Jihoon's eyes, just a quiet sort of understanding. "You won't," he answered. "Chan's strong enough to take care of himself."

"I almost did today," Soonyoung whispered gravely as if the gravity of the day's events were just starting to weigh in on him. His voice wavered as he struggled to breathe. "Oh my gosh, I could've lost him."

"He probably feels the same way," Jihoon said, gazing into Chan's eyes. "What if he'd lost you?"

"Yeah, but," Soonyoung made a noise of confusion. "I won't die. I can take it."

Jihoon hesitated, gnawing on his lip before asking "Does that mean you deserve it?"

Soonyoung blanked.

"Soonyoung?" Jihoon called cautiously, waving a hand in front of his face. Soonyoung's eyes didn't follow his hand, gazing listlessly through it instead. "Damn it, did I break you?" He moved to cradle his limp body closer, squeezing him tightly.

"What's going on?" Chan asked, horrified by the manner in which all life seemed to leave Soonyoung's body in one whoosh. Rationally, he knew Soonyoung couldn't die, especially not because of a simple question. But his mental withdrawal was terrifying, enough to force Chan to leave the shelter the door provided and check on him. "Should I call Joshua-hyung?"

Jihoon glanced up at Chan before returning his attention to Soonyoung, gently rubbing his shoulder to try to get some feeling into him. "He's dissociating, I think," Jihoon answered. "Can you get Jeonghan-hyung or Seungcheol-hyung?" Chan nodded, rushing off to find one of the two when Jihoon called him back. "Don't come back, okay? Go to bed."

Chan wanted to protest, but at the same time, he was grateful. He was aware that Soonyoung and Mingyu were prone to dissociative episodes but had never witnessed one himself. Yeah, he wanted to make sure Soonyoung was safe and healthy, but he didn't know how to help. He would only be able to watch uselessly as Seungcheol and Jeonghan try to coax Soonyoung out of the mental protective barriers Soonyoung's put up.

He found Jeonghan in his room in the middle of applying some expensive face mask, Jisoo beside him. "Hyung, Soonyoung-hyung is dissociating," Chan stated, wishing he could succeed at making his voice not tremble.

Jeonghan froze then rushed out of the room, even though he had applied the mask to only half of his face.

"Channie-ah, you good?" Jisoo asked cautiously. He motioned for the younger to come closer then wrapped him in a hug. "Soonyoung will be okay," he reassured, frowning when Chan didn't stop shivering. "How about you stay here with me for tonight?" Chan nodded against his shirt

Chan cleared his throat, effectively startling Junhui and Soonyoung away from the laptop. Junhui shot him a shaky smile, almost as if he was unsure whose side to take. "Hao just texted me that he needed me," he announced without looking at his phone once. He exited the room, smoothly nudging Chan to Soonyoung as he passed by.

"Do you need anything?" Soonyoung finally asked after a tense minute of Chan hovering awkwardly.

Chan swallowed. "Can we talk?"

Soonyoung drummed his fingers on the table and let out a weary sigh. "We're talking right now," he replied, spinning around on the stool to face Chan for the first time. Chan was taken aback by how thoroughly drained he looked, bags hanging under his eyes, and hair looking unkempt despite the snapback he placed on it. Chan briefly wondered if he'd slept. Jeonghan had come to bed at around midnight so Soonyoung should have had ample time to rest. "What do you need to talk about?"

Apologize, Chan's mind commanded. What came out instead was: "Did you sleep?"

Soonyoung chuckled darkly. "I tried. Couldn't. Bad memories." He stared at Chan listlessly until Chan started fidgeting uncomfortably. "Sit down," Soonyoung ordered, motioning for Chan to take Jun's seat. Chan perched on the edge of the weathered leather stool and wished Jun hadn't left to give them space. Right now, he wanted the cheerful man to stay and make this whole situation less grim.

"Okay, first, obviously, you're not off my team. 'M not sure why I even said that," Soonyoung murmured. "I guess unless you want to be." Soonyoung took his snapback off and attempted to run a hand through the tangled mess before giving up and putting it back on. "Do you have anything to say first?"

"I'm sorry," Chan said, figuring he should apologize already.

Soonyoung nodded. "For?"

Chan's mind emptied unhelpfully. He wasn't really expecting to have to actually talk and explain himself. He'd assumed he could just apologize, leave, and then forever live in awkwardness with his favorite hyung for the rest of his life. "For being rude and talking back?" Chan ventured.

"I don't mind that you talked back to me," Soonyoung stated. "That's not why I got so upset." A pained expression ghosted across his face. "You know why I don't like talking about Samuel."

"I do," Chan confirmed with a nod.

Soonyoung dug the heel of his palms into his eyes with a tired groan. "Then why bring him up like that?" Without warning, Soonyoung suddenly pulled him into a suffocatingly tight hug, nose buried in Chan's hair. "Do you even know how I'd feel if something were to ever happen to you because I couldn't protect you?" Soonyoung asked in a choked voice. He let go of Chan almost as quickly as he'd grabbed him. Chan found himself missing the warmth.

"I'm sorry," Chan whispered once more.

"It's fine, I'm not mad," Soonyoung said, clearing his throat. "Did you have anything else to say?" Chan shook his head and started to get to his feet, eager to escape. "Hold on," Soonyoung said, latching onto Chan's wrist and pulling him back down. "It's my turn now."

Chan groaned internally but stayed still, fighting the urge to fidget as Soonyoung stared at him. Soonyoung snorted softly and patted Chan's knee kindly. "Stop looking so scared. I already told you I'm not mad at you."

Easier said than done, Chan thought.

"Why do you thinlk Cheol-hyung's our boss?"

Chan blinked. He wasn't expecting questions of this nature. His confusion must have shown on his face because Soonyoung snickered.

"I already said I'm not annoyed anymore," Soonyoung said, voice tinged with amusement. "I'm just gonna explain some things to you, and hopefully, we won't have to have any more fights like this in the future."

"You're really not mad at me," Chan said cautiously, studying Soonyoung's face for signs of deception. He found nothing other than fond exasperation. "You're not planning to prank me with Seungkwan while I'm sleeping or something?"

Soonyoung faltered. "I can't make any promises about the pranking thing, but I'm really not mad at you, Channie-ah."

Chan sighed in relief. "Thank fuck for that."

Soonyoung shook his head in disapproval. "Does Jeonghan-hyung know you're using big boy words like that?"

"No, and he doesn't need to know," Chan said quickly. "Um, about Cheol-hyung-?"

"Oh, right," Soonyoung blinked, returning to the issue at hand. "Why do you think he's the head boss, rather than me or Hoonie or anyone else?"

Chan hummed, deep in thought. "He's the oldest," he attempted, looking to Soonyoung for approval. Finding it in his eyes, Chan continued. "He's not the smartest, that's Jihoon-hyung. But he- we all respect him."

Soonyoung nodded his assent. "What else?"

"He's the strongest?"

"Okay," Soonyoung said. "What about Jihoon-ah? Why is he his team's leader? Jeonghan-hyung's the oldest one in that team."

"Jihoon-hyung's a genius," Chan answered softly.

Soonyoung met Chan's gaze. "What about me?"

"You have to promise that if it's me or you, or if it's anyone else or you, the first person you'll save is yourself."

"But, hyung-" Chan protested.

"No," Soonyoung said desperately. "You're not understanding, Chan. You don't play hero, okay? We're not heroes. We're stupid kids that have to hide away for a really long time."

"What I'm trying to get at here is," Soonyoung cleared his throat. "You- All of you have more at stake than I do. You could die."

Chan bit his lip, not wanting to further the argument but not willing to give in either. "What about you?"

"Me?"

“When they had me,” Soonyoung mumbled. “They were running tests everyday and they were- they used me for things, and-“ Something in Chan’s expression must have worried Soonyoung since he started rambling. “But I never died. Other people died but I never did. Even when they were trying to kill me, I didn’t die, so, really it’s all okay.”

"No."

Chan shook his head in denial. He didn't want to understand, wasn't prepared to follow Soonyoung's words to their logical conclusion.

Soonyoung appeared startled by Chan's sudden refusal before his face softened and he leaned closer to rub Chan's knee soothingly. "Channie, it's okay."

"It's not okay!" Chan burst out. "Does this mean we're using you? This is so messed up."

"Chan," Soonyoung said softly, towing him off of the stool and pulling him into a hug. Chan hugged back, squeezing the older as tight as he could, as if that would be enough to keep him safe from all harm. "I volunteered for this. It really is fine."

"Does everyone else know about this?" Chan choked out. "There's no way Jihoon-hyung is letting you do this."

Soonyoung snickered, voice more than a little bitter. "Whose idea do you think it was?"

"There's a reason me, Jihoon, and Seungcheol are the leaders. It's not because we're the most authoritative or strict or whatever. If it were based on that, Minghao would probably be the leader," Soonyoung said with a soft, amused snort before his expression darkened. "For me, it's because I can't die. If anybody can get caught, it's me. That's why I go by myself on all of the missions with the highest chance of failing."

Chan felt his eyes turn dangerously glassy, a tear threatening to fall over the edge. "That's not fair," he mumbled. "At all."

"Fairness doesn't matter," Soonyoung chuckled darkly. "If justice mattered, we'd be home with our families, instead of here, on the run." His voice dropped to a whisper, and he looked to the floor. "Samuel would still be here." Soonyoung swallowed dryly before quickly standing. “I’m going to get more work done, bye.”


	2. idk

“Hyung, scoot over,” Chan mumbled, tiredness seeping into his voice. Soonyoung obliged, pulling himself up from where he was spread out across all 3 seats in the back row. Once Chan was seated, Soonyoung laid back down so that his head was in Chan’s lap. “Thanks,” Chan said as he propped himself up against the car window, eyes falling shut almost immediately. Soonyoung forced himself to keep his peepers open for a minute longer to watch Minghao and Jun get in the company van as well. Only once he’d made sure that Minghao had pulled his seatbelt on did he allow himself to succumb to his exhaustion.

They’d been up since 6 am and it was now 3 am. Way too much time awake for it to be healthy. But a comeback was just around the corner so they had to do what they had to do. Even if it meant compromising their health.

“What’s going on?” Minghao asked. 

“We got in a small crash.” The manager smiled tightly. “You guys are fine, right?”

Minghao scanned the three others in the car. Chan was blinking confusedly at the streetlights outside, but Soonyoung and Jun hadn't even woken up. "Yeah, I think so."  
"Good." The manager rubbed a hand over his face then undid his seatbelt to lean over and rummage through the glove compartment. "I'll go exchange insurances and phone numbers with them, and then we can leave."

Minghao nodded, settling back into his seat. Chan had fallen asleep again almost immediately, and Minghao wanted to follow suit. 

It would be okay, Soonyoung surmised. The kidnappers were stupid. They were being seized in a company vehicle that was GPS tracked at all times. It wouldn't be long before their manager would call for help, and they'd be located and saved. 

Soonyoung started at the hushed whisper of his name. He glanced out of his peripheral vision towards Chan. Chan who was holding Mingyu's phone and staring straight ahead without blinking.  
Soonyoung mimicked putting something in his pocket, then repeated the action in case Chan hadn't understood the first time. Hide the phone.

The phone vibrated, loud as a gunshot in the silence. Chan dropped the phone between his thighs, trying his best to muffle the noise. 

Soonyoung's heart sank. 

"Is that a fucking phone? After I said there better not be any more phones?" The man snickered. "At least, you're brave, I guess."

The man took a step forward closer to Chan. 

The man seemed to be grinning under the mask. He was enjoying this way too much. "You're going to regret trying that."

Soonyoung grabbed onto Chan's trembling fingers, squeezing them tightly to pacify him. Chan didn't squeeze back. "It was my idea, not his."

Chan breathed in sharply. "Hyung!"

The man's gaze shifted from Chan to Soonyoung. 

"Wow, the performance team leader. So you're a dancer, huh?" Soonyoung nodded wordlessly. His heart was hammering

"Be a real tragedy if something were to happen to your knees then, wouldn't it?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading <3 and leave comments and kudos to give me life


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